Andrew G. Hughson

Key facts

• A May 2026 paper lists Hughson's affiliation as the TSE/Prion Biochemistry Section, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, Hamilton, Montana.
• Other 2025 and 2026 papers give his affiliation as the Laboratory of Neurological Infections and Immunity at RML; papers up to 2020 used the older name, Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases.
• He is named as a colleague of Byron Caughey in the coverage of Caughey's death on 15 February 2026.
• PubMed lists 74 records for Hughson AG, running to October 2026 and covering RT-QuIC for prions, alpha-synuclein and tau, prion structure and prion inactivation.
• He coauthored the 2014 NEJM study showing RT-QuIC on nasal brushings detected CJD with 97 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity.
• He coauthored the 2020 six-laboratory ring trial of second generation CSF and nasal brushing RT-QuIC for sporadic CJD, which reported 98 to 100 percent concordance.
• He coauthored the 2024 validation of skin RT-QuIC on 875 samples, with reported sensitivity of 89.4 percent and specificity of 95.5 percent.
• He was first author of a 2016 PLoS Pathogens study on inactivating prions and amyloid seeds with hypochlorous acid, and coauthored a 2024 study showing bleach inactivates human sporadic CJD prions.
• He coauthored the 2021 Molecular Cell cryo-EM structures of infectious mammalian prions and the 2024 cryo-EM structure of natural chronic wasting disease prion fibrils from deer.
• He coauthored a 2025 Lancet Neurology multi-cohort study of CSF alpha-synuclein seed assay kinetics in Parkinson's disease, with Orru, Groveman, Parchi and Caughey.
• He coauthored a December 2025 review of prions and protein aggregates as biomarkers and therapeutic targets with Caughey, Orru and Priola.
• He is a coauthor of the October 2026 Acta Neuropathologica article on Byron Caughey's RT-QuIC legacy, with Groveman, Vascellari, Bongianni, Zanusso and Orru.
• His 2025 to 2026 output also includes a same day alpha-synuclein RT-QuIC assay (NPJ Biosensing, February 2025), a multisite skin biopsy alpha-synuclein study (September 2026) and medRxiv preprints from May 2025 and March 2026.
• Country: United States.

Timeline

1. 2014Coauthor of the NEJM nasal brushing RT-QuIC test for CJD.
2. 2016First author of the hypochlorous acid prion inactivation study (PLoS Pathog).
3. 2020Coauthor of the second generation RT-QuIC ring trial (Ann Clin Transl Neurol).
4. 2021Coauthor of high-resolution cryo-EM structures of infectious prions (Mol Cell).
5. 2024Coauthor of the large-scale skin RT-QuIC validation (Acta Neuropathol).
6. 2024Coauthor of the cryo-EM structure of natural CWD prion fibrils (Acta Neuropathol).
7. 2024Coauthor of a study on bleach inactivation of human CJD prions (PLOS ONE).
8. 2025Coauthor of a same day alpha-synuclein RT-QuIC assay paper (NPJ Biosensing).
9. 2025Coauthor of the Lancet Neurology alpha-synuclein seed assay kinetics study.
10. 2025Coauthor of a Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews review with Caughey and Priola.
11. 2026Paper lists him in the TSE/Prion Biochemistry Section, NIAID, Hamilton (Parkinsonism Relat Disord).
12. 2026Coauthor of a multisite skin biopsy alpha-synuclein seed assay study (J Neuropathol Exp Neurol).
13. 2026Coauthor of the Acta Neuropathologica article on Byron Caughey's RT-QuIC legacy.